Welcome to the Winobloggers webpage! Students and professors from different universities meet to discuss their findings on Winogradsky columns they constructed!
We learn how to formulate hypotheses, observe, comment, ask and reply to questions related to our scientific experiments.

Winogradksy columns

'In the field of observation, chance only favors the prepared mind' Pasteur 1854

Blog posts

Saturday, 2 April 2016

Volos_Group 20_Day 12_Dark

University of
Thessaly

Group number:
20 (Papadopoulou Aikaterini-Papaioannou Evangelia-Anna)

Day number: 12

Incubation: Dark

Winogradsky’s

Column

We
are a team of two people from the University of Thessaly in Greece and our
experiment is Winogradsky column. The experimental procedure involves:
the collection of sediment from the beach Anavros (located
outside the city of Volos)
which we subsequently mixed with various enrichment materials.
These materials were a hen's egg with a shell, which was used as a source of
calcium and sulfur. In
addition, pieces of newspaper were used
as a carbon source and cellulos. Then we took a plastic bottle (1,5 L)
and we filled up to 2/3 with the sediment and the enrichment materials and then
we supplemented with sea water (500 ml). Subsequently, the column created
covered with clear film and placed in a dark place with relatively stable
conditions.

Day 1 (21/3/2016)

Figure 1

Day 3 (24/3/2016)

Figure 2

Day 7 (28/3/2016)

Figure 3

Figure 4

Day 10 (31/3/2016)

Figure 5

On the
first day of the experiment on 21/03/16 (Fig.1) held in
Anavros Beach (Volos), the sample was taken, where the liquid phase separation
(sea water was observed) from the solid occurred (sea sediment). The
liquid phase was observed an intense yellow color derived from the enriched
material, particularly egg, but no noticeable odor.

On the third day (Fig. 2) we observed a
slight decline in the bright yellow color in the liquid phase, and on the
seventh day (Fig. 3) of the experiment we observed a change in the color of the liquid phase to
a yellowish white color in some points of the wall of the column in conjunction
with a white foam in the surface(Fig.
4) which may have been the outcome of oxygen trapped. Additionally, the
sediment showed a relatively darker color change from the first day to the
upper column tarnished, while the odor remained low.

On the
tenth day (Fig. 5) the lower portion of the column of the liquid phase
obtained a white color while the surface was still a white foam. We also
observed that the sediment had almost completely tarnished across the column and
the unpleasant odor continued to be low. These events
may indicate that the use of nutrients that have been chosen to put in
Winogradsky column had an immediate effect on the growth of microorganisms and
particulate matter. The black color of the upper pellet column can be
attributed to the presence of organic
material (egg) and the accumulation of by-products of metabolism. Finally, the odor may indicate the existence of hydrogen
sulfide in the column.